During the week of August 12, 2002, the National Book Foundation, under the auspices of its American Voices program, sponsored the pilot project of "The Native Writer's Workshop" at Turtle Mountain Community College in North Dakota. The workshop was taught by Louise and Heid Erdrich, and guest author Al Hunter.

The pilot was first proposed to the Foundation by Louise Erdrich, who knew about the American Voices program and thought it would dovetail perfectly with her hope to organize an ongoing Native Writers Workshop at Turtle Mountain. Louise was absolutely right; what drove her to conduct this workshop is exactly what prompted the American Voices program at its beginning - the need to provide the tools and inspiration Native peoples need to begin telling their own stories.

"I decided to give my time to a writing workshop in the Turtle Mountains, where my mother grew up, and where my sister Heid Erdrich and I are enrolled tribal members, because of something I heard from a Chippewa, or Ojibwe, elder. When other people tell your story, it always comes out crooked. It is vital, I think, for Native American people to tell the stories of our own people, in our own voices, from our own perspective," said Louise.

"What a wonderful idea Louise had for this week," added Heid Erdrich. "I am so pleased that I could help organize events and coordinate with the staff at Turtle Mountain Community College and at the National Book Foundation. My sister and I have never done such a project together, but because we had different skills to offer the group, we could provide a nice balance of support and motivation."

Participants were hand-picked by Carol Davis, Vice President of the College, who publicized the workshop through local papers. She and Heid Erdrich, who did much of the local organizing of the workshop, also approached teachers for recommendations on particular students. To quote Heid: "Word of mouth does a world of good in a small community."

The National Book Foundation made it possible for each participant to receive a free copy of each of the writers' books, including Louise Erdrich's The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, Heid Erdrich's Fishing for Myth, and Al Hunter's Spirit Horses. They also received the anthologies Stories Migrating Home and Nitaawichge.

The students ranged in ages, education and employment, all shared a love of reading and passion for and interest in becoming better writers. They were:

Scott Belgarde, age 37; formerly in the military, he has published articles and is interested in government; Jerianne Davis, age 44, who works with Turtle Mountain Constitution Committee as a volunteer; Logan Davis, a 46-year-old freelance writer; Shirley Day-Morin, age 30, a Turtle Mountain Community College student who won an art award at a recent conference of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC); Stephanie DeCoteau, age 25 and a member of the Turtle Mountain Community College staff; Jerilyn DeCoteau, 53 and an attorney; Erich Hamley, a 20-year-old Turtle Mountain Community College student; Marcus Hamley, age 23 and an English major at University of North Dakota; Dennis Houle, age 40 and a Turtle Mountain Community College student; Doug LaFromboise, at 26 he is a journalist for the Turtle Mountain Times; and Suzanne Nadeau, 21, and a journalist for the Turtle Mountain Star.

Any fears participants might have had regarding a "formal" creative workshop environment immediately subsided when they were welcomed by Louise and Heid, and invited to develop a family tree for their first assignment. What emerged were stories, poems, and essays that developed, with each revision, into passionate, uninhibited life stories.

For a people with strong roots in community and family, as participant Suzanne Nadeau pointed out, this was the perfect way to begin the week; once these "young" writer's began working, they couldn't stop.

"Eventually Louise and I established a pattern in which she worked one-on-one with the participants - who clearly absorbed the privilege of mentorship from a renowned writer - while I put the larger group through exercises and two days of workshop of their revised and typed stories and poems," explained Heid. "My work with participants on individual stories and poems, outside of workshop, was productive and rewarding as well."

Monday and Tuesday's workshops included a visit by Ojibwe poet Al Hunter, who came down from Canada to talk about the craft of poetry. "Participants really responded to Al's warmth and honesty and he clearly enjoyed his stay," said Heid. "It was also great for us to have another voice to add to our teaching and to be able to share this newly emerging Canadian writer with an audience who otherwise would not have been likely to hear of him."

The culminating event of the week was on Wednesday evening, when Louise Erdrich and workshop participants shared their work at a community reading attended by more than 100 students, teachers, and community residents. A traditional supper was served, music played, and one by one, students and authors-in-residence held the audience's rapt attention. The pieces varied from humorous, anecdotal takes on typical family life, to more somber ones approaching the subjects of tragedy and loss.

"The audience gave generous feedback and made it clear that such a program was truly welcome at Turtle Mountain. I learned of a real need in the reservation community for events that bring people together to celebrate our shared heritage and to educate through culture," reported Heid. The evening was cathartic and enjoyed by all, with several requests for more opportunities allowing the Turtle Mountain people to engage in similar workshops.

Subsequent sessions involved further revision work, and individual conferences with all three instructors. "To me, a longtime teacher of writing, it was remarkable how much improvement these writers made in such a short time," said Heid. "My family has always been proud of the artistic and storytelling abilities of our tribe - the workshop participants reinforced that sense of our shared tradition with their hard work and talent."

When participants parted ways, they expressed their gratitude to Louise, Hied, Al, and the National Book Foundation for being awarded such a unique and needed program. It was apparent that all of them were hungry for the experience and look forward to more of them in the near future. "I just wanted to tell you that I do indeed feel privileged to have participated in the program," said Susanne Nadeau. "I was excited to learn more about the creative writing process, though, of course, it has always been a part of my life."

"The Turtle Mountain Chippewa reservation has not had many opportunities to experience the expertise of authors such as Louise Erdrich for tribal members who are creatively gifted," said Carol Davis, vice president of the College. "That is why it was so special to have Louise Erdrich team with the Turtle Mountain Community College to make this creative writing workshop available to tribal members."

Heid Erdrich summed it up best: " I think the events of the week were particularly important because they focused on books in a place with no bookstore, no library, but lots of people who love a good story."